Posted by Robin
on
16 February 2010
Kim Kardashian, in case you didn’t know, is a “TV star, entrepreneur, model, actress, and trendsetter”, in addition to being “one of the world’s most idolized women”. So says Sephora, where Kardashian’s eponymous debut fragrance recently launched and is reportedly a top seller.
Kardashian said she wanted “something rich and creamy and sexy, but still youthful”;1 what she got was a big white floral, very similar to the recent Mariah Carey Forever, which of course was very similar to Marc Jacobs for women. Kardashian’s effort, developed by perfumer Claude Dir, is lusher than Forever, and heavier on the tuberose…
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Posted by Robin
on
5 June 2008
Bertrand Duchaufour might be my second favorite (living) perfumer at the moment (you regular readers know that Jean-Claude Ellena is still at the top of the list), so Magnolia Romana by Eau d'Italie was one of my “most looked forward to” fragrances this year. I was a little worried about the “summer ozone” and “water” notes (other notes include purple basil, lemon leaves, neroli, nutmeg, cypress, magnolia, Bulgarian rose, tuberose, lotus, cedar, hay extract and white musk), and I was right to be: I don't like synthetic “fresh” notes, and while Magnolia Romana isn't overwhelmingly “fresh”, it's just fresh enough to bother me.
Despite the fascinating list of notes, it reads as very nearly bland on my skin…
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Posted by Robin
on
15 October 2007
Today is Blog Action Day, when “bloggers around the web will unite to put a single important issue on everyone’s mind”. Some 14,000+ 20,000+ blogs are participating. This year’s theme is the environment, so I’m highlighting a few of my favorite natural fragrances, and in the post below this one, you’ll find Pia’s review of scented cleaning items from Earth Friendly Products.
If you’ve never explored natural perfumery, now is the perfect time. For one thing, you’ve more choice than ever before: there are literally dozens of natural perfume lines, and anyone who thinks natural fragrances aren’t as sophisticated as those made with synthetics might be surprised by the range of offerings…
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Posted by Robin
on
9 July 2007
Private Collection Tuberose Gardenia is the brainchild of Aerin Lauder, Estee Lauder’s granddaughter and the Creative Director of the Estee Lauder line. It borrows its name from Private Collection, the 1973 release that was said to be based on a scent that Estee Lauder originally created for her own use. The new fragrance features neroli, lilac, rosewood, tuberose, gardenia, orange flower, jasmine, white lily, carnation and vanilla bourbon.
Private Collection Tuberose Gardenia opens sweet and bright, and seems to move rapidly from the mild touch of citrus in the opening into the white floral notes in the heart. The lilac softens the more exuberant floral notes in the early stages, but it is lush and full-bodied almost from the start, and it is almost linear after the first 20 minutes or so have passed. The tuberose and gardenia are the main players — you will catch glimpses of the other notes, especially the jasmine, but it starts out smelling like mostly tuberose and gardenia and hours later, it still does. The base is milky-creamy woods with a touch of vanilla, and is neither heady nor overly sweet…
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Posted by Robin
on
7 November 2005
Do Son was released by Diptyque this year, and is their first new fragrance for women since 2003’s Jardin Clos. Like Tam Dao, it was inspired by the childhood memories of Yves Coueslant, one of Diptyque’s founders, who…
…grew up in Haiphong, a vast harbour in northern Indochina where his father, a lawyer in love with China, was established. His mother, hardly bearing the heat and damp monsoon weather, used to rest for hours in the fresh and quiet half-light of her sitting room. She loved the bitter sweet fragrance of tuberoses and the great department store in town where she used to buy whatever was fashionable from Paris. (via Diptyque website)
The fragrance notes are tuberose, orange tree leaves, rose, benzoin, iris, and white musk…
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